Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

Personally interested in modern interpretations of classical concepts in perfumery, I choose some of the most successful perfumes in this contest which launched after 2000.
I added Oct-07 in the title because I think we would revise the options list in poll.
Let us share our opinions on the issue.

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

I would have to go with Terre D'Hermes for being unique in this era !
Having said that - I cannot place it but i definitely reminds me of something my dad wore a lot of in the early 80's ... So it gets points for reminiscence value as well.
Close second defintely goes to Rive Gauche - a personal favorite.

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

The only one of these I really enjoy wearng is Terre d'Hermes. I like the idea behind dior homme but it just isn't me. Can't stand M7 and prefer Barbier des Isles to Rive Gauche. L'Instant is blah compared to the earlier Heritage (IMO, of course).

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

I voted for L'Instant. I started to like it a lot last fall/winter/spring. TdH is pretty good I guess, but smelling the bottle has never made me want to wear it. I'd say TdH and L'Instant, from this list, are the best all-arounders. Couldn't go wrong and probably wouldn't get fatigued by them no matter how often or where one wore them.

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

I went with Dior Homme. I liked Rive Gauche and Terre d'Hermes too and they both wear very well, but I don't think they are classics. I think M7 will most likely become a classic, but Dior Homme is the most contemporary to me.

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

I'd go with L'instant EDP. It suits me so well, just like Pi, but Pi is very sweet it could be cloying in warm weather here. I also have M7 (I like it a lot, but quite heavy), and Rive Gauche (not so nice in heat).

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

Originally Posted by the_good_life

The only one of these I really enjoy wearng is Terre d'Hermes. I like the idea behind dior homme but it just isn't me. Can't stand M7 and prefer Barbier des Isles to Rive Gauche. L'Instant is blah compared to the earlier Heritage (IMO, of course).

Thank you for your comment on list. When we talk about CLASSICAL perfumery, french designer come to my mind quickly. Therefore I admit that any list I wrote about classical perfumes would be something "francocentric"!
About your list, I should say, they are niche fragrances except brit and Cuiron, and as far as the list is about main stream luxe masculine fragrances, only these two exceptions can be added here. So I think it would be good to add them in the next round of the poll. Perhaps in november we can recreat the list with other members recommendations.
Also IMHO it's unlikely that these two(Brit and Cuiron) can survive in this contest!
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Originally Posted by Vibert

Sorry - I didn't get that.

Now by "successful" do you mean mass market impact/designer fragrance, or what scent lovers are going to remember/crave after 20 years or so?

When I creat the list, the BEST mass market designer fragrances were in my mind. Which one is the best reinterpretation of the classical perfumery concepts? Who did it better?
Also it could be a good subject to establish another poll based on your second alternate...

Last edited by msi_21; 1st October 2007 at 08:24 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

Originally Posted by Vibert

In terms of most impact on the course of mass market perfumery, I'll go with M7, if only because it introduced oud to the wider public.

But hardly anyone bought it! Considering how much of a commercial flop it was/is, I'm surprised YSL hasn't discontinued it by now. Rive Gauche too. Note: I'm not commenting on the quality of these two; I'm just expressing surprise and admiration for YSL.

As for the vote, I, of course, went with Dior Homme, and Gucci PH was the runner up.

My passion for TdH, the Basenotes flavor of the moment, came and went. It doesn't excite me, really. I'm not a vanilla fan, so Pi was out from the start. Envy has a sharp, synthetic note in it that puts me off; so does L'Instant. Rive Gauche is a wonderful and creative perfume, but like M7, it did not really make an impact. Besides, it neither really suit me.

After owning every one of those on your list at some point, I can honestly say that Dior Homme and Gucci PH are the only two that continue to hold my attention and admiration due to their complexity, user-friendly natures, and uniqueness. Thus, Dior got the vote and Gucci gets honorable mention.

Last edited by LiveJazz; 3rd October 2007 at 12:52 AM.

"It's not what you look like when you're doing what you're doing; it's what you're doing when you're doing what you look like you're doing."

Re: Which is the "Best Contemporary Classic" for men?(Oct-07)

[QUOTE=LiveJazz;1070566][COLOR="DarkGreen"]But hardly anyone bought it! Considering how much of a commercial flop it was/is, I'm surprised YSL hasn't discontinued it by now. Rive Gauche too. Note: I'm not commenting on the quality of these two; I'm just expressing surprise and admiration for YSL.

Why it happened about M7 in the market? What was wrong about it?
I saw it got european FiFi award in 2004, but it wasn't successful in market.